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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821354">Sorry, Not Sorry</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellaphunt19/pseuds/ellaphunt19'>ellaphunt19</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Coffee Beats [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, and music sales associate!vanya, as they debate about waffles and pancakes, before getting interrupted by helen, luther and diego are also mentioned, petty five has arrived, please enjoy the adventures of barista!five, they're 20-year-olds with summer jobs near their college</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:15:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,198</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26821354</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellaphunt19/pseuds/ellaphunt19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Vanya has a run-in with Helen at the cafe. Five decides to be petty about it.</p><p>-</p><p>“Five, that is not okay.”</p><p>“Don't act like the moral compass now. You were perfectly fine with the idea of Diego throwing a pastry at her head a few seconds ago.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Coffee Beats [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>149</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sorry, Not Sorry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/light_loves_the_dark/gifts">light_loves_the_dark</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you for your support when I was figuring out the initial direction of this installment! The Fiveya video edits and stories you've contributed are amazing, and I thought it would be fitting to gift you the story that may be, as you put it, “the child of dark Five” in an AU that is fluff-centric. &lt;3</p><p>-</p><p>Part 1 of this series provides more context about how Five and Vanya first met in this AU/timeline. However, this story can be read on its own if preferred! </p><p>Helen’s conversation with Vanya in Season 1 will be incorporated into this installment. This story also delves into some of Vanya's anxiety about her upcoming violin audition. </p><p>Title for this work is from Mayday Parade’s album, Monsters in the Closet.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Three weeks had passed since Vanya started working at Leonard’s music store. She had become a new regular at the quaint cafe across the street, spending her lunch breaks sitting at the table closest to the cash register, getting to know the barista who had gifted her the pair of ear plugs on her first day.</p><p>It had become a routine for her to share conversations with Five whenever he wasn’t busy ringing up orders and preparing drinks during her lunch hour, a part of her day that Vanya looked forward to spending. </p><p>“How can you prefer pancakes over waffles?” Vanya questioned, scrunching up her face and taking a sip of her caramel frappuccino. “Waffles have pockets for the syrup to stay in so it won’t get soggy, the texture is <em> amazing</em>, and there’s less of a chance for you to screw it up when you cook it. You literally just pour the batter into a waffle maker and leave it be.” </p><p>Five leaned both arms onto the counter, hunching his body forward. “That’s absurd, Vanya. Pancakes are a <em> classic </em> and have much better texture than a waffle does. The crunch in waffles distract from the taste, the spacing of the squares are too big and doesn’t allow for a uniform distribution of the syrup...” Five straightened up after the familiar ring of the door opening indicated that a new customer had arrived. Wrapping up his thought, he stated, “And above all else, unlike waffles—”</p><p>“Make me a latte to-go, and be sure to use soy milk. I’m lactose intolerant.” A woman, who Vanya instantly recognized as Helen Cho, demanded as she strutted forward, “And hurry it up, will you?” The woman didn’t so much as glance at Five as she slapped the five dollar bill on the counter, eyes glued to her phone. </p><p>Vanya silently observed Five ringing up the order with his practiced customer friendly smile intact, stepping to the side of the counter to make Helen’s drink. Given how little patience he had with his coworkers, this must have been one of the best self restraints she’s witnessed from him. Then again, Five had enough common sense not to hold the same regard he would with his coworkers when attending to a difficult customer.</p><p>Helen was renowned for being the only college freshman to land first chair at their university’s orchestra - a position granted exclusively for fourth year undergraduates. Since then, Helen had maintained her spot as first chair, while Vanya had been stuck in third. </p><p>When she received the third chair spot for the third time in a row, Vanya was motivated to land the first chair position by her last year of college. She had been practicing far more in her third year than she had in her first and second year combined. With the audition coming up in a month and a half, it was crunch time for her. Despite her motivation to meet her goal, Vanya still remained hesitant and doubtful that the amount of time she spent practicing for the past year would change anything, but she still wanted to <em> try</em>.</p><p>When Helen finally stopped looking at her phone while waiting for her order, Vanya mentally debated if she should just eat the rest of her lunch without acknowledging her, or strike up a conversation. While they had played the violin together for three years now, they were more acquaintances than friends. Ah, to hell with it. Vanya greeted with a small wave, “Hey, Helen.”</p><p>“Oh,” Helen turned to Vanya with an unreadable expression, “Hey.” </p><p>There was an uncomfortable pause. Vanya cleared her throat, trying to think of what to say to break the awkward silence. She started it, so she needed to follow through. “You were great in our last performance,” Vanya complimented, “Really, really great.” </p><p>Helen eyed Vanya up and down, arms crossed as if keeping her guard up, “Thanks.” </p><p>“It’s those runs in the Stravinsky.” Vanya rambled, “I’ve been hacking at them for a while now, and you just make—”</p><p>“Make them look easy?” </p><p>Vanya could only nod in agreement.  </p><p>“What’s your name again?” Helen asked, tilting her head. </p><p>Really? She still forgot her name? Trying not to take offense to it, she answered, “Vanya.”<br/>
<br/>
“Vanya.” Helen repeated with a nod, leaning her weight on her right leg, “And you’ve been stuck as the third chair violinist since our first year?”</p><p>Vanya shifted around her seat. It wasn’t a question to be answered. She could tell Helen asked it rhetorically. </p><p>“At a certain point, it’s not about practice. It’s whether you’ve got something special. And maybe you just…” Helen let out a half-hearted shrug, “Don’t.”</p><p>Well, fuck. Maybe she should have just chosen the anti-social route and kept eating her damn meal. Vanya’s body tensed, an unnerving wave of anger and bitterness welling up inside of her. Her hands fell onto her lap as she gripped the front of her uniform to distract from her uneasiness.</p><p>To rub salt in the wound, Helen added, “A word of advice? You can either try to audition for first chair again only to land third or… you can go find something you’re actually passionate about and stop slogging away at Stravinsky like a scared thirteen-year-old.”</p><p>“Your order’s ready, Helen.” Five called out, a hint of aggravation in his tone that went unnoticed, placing the latte onto the counter.</p><p>Helen grabbed her latte and offered a dismissive glance at Vanya before walking out the door, “Think it over.”</p><p>A rush of uncertainty crept through every crevice of Vanya’s body. She absolutely hated this feeling as her stomach twisted in knots. She admired Helen’s skill and would keep practicing on her own accord, hoping that she would ever be as good as her. But in the back of her mind, Vanya believed she wouldn’t be as talented of a violinist as Helen. She tried not to delve into this thought each time she would anxiously wait for the audition results, only to be disappointed to discover that she had received the third chair spot again. </p><p>Vanya considered Helen’s advice, even though the way she said it could have been phrased a lot better. The idea of focusing her last year looking for another passion felt so foreign to her. Playing the violin was her whole life, it kept her grounded and brought comfort to her - she couldn’t just give up her dream to play as the first chair violinist at the Icarus Theatre when she graduated. It was discouraging not being recognized for her efforts, sure, but she wanted that to change this year. She worked <em> so </em>hard for this, and she couldn’t give up now. </p><p>… Right? </p><p>“Charming, isn’t she?” Five scoffed as soon as Helen was out of sight. </p><p>Vanya jolted back to reality from Five’s voice, momentarily unaware of her surroundings as she was absorbed by her thoughts. She soon relaxed her shoulders as she looked down at her half-eaten food, no longer having an appetite. A small grumble escaped her lips, “Very.”</p><p>Five’s voice softened as he eyed Vanya carefully, “You want to talk about it?” </p><p>That surprised her. Vanya didn't take Five to be one to offer listening to people’s problems, but she supposed that her distress was written all over her face at this point. She forced a reassuring smile as she deflected, “Maybe you should take up bartending instead. I hear a lot of their customers naturally open up to them.”</p><p>“Rebranding the place isn’t a bad idea, Vanya.” Five surveyed the cafe, “There's no such thing as too many bars near a college campus.”</p><p>“If you were wiping a beer stein, you'd play the trope well.” Vanya joked, using her fork to poke around her salad.</p><p>Five looked to his right and grabbed a nearby cloth and cup that needed to be wiped dry. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face as he watched Vanya shake her head in disbelief, “Well?”</p><p>Vanya bit her lip. It had been <em> so long </em> since she vented to someone, which was usually her own fault for choosing to keep her problems to herself. Even so, she craved the idea of having someone to confide in, but also feared that she would scare the person away. </p><p>The genuine look of concern that Five held gave Vanya enough courage to take the plunge and trust him. </p><p>It was then that Vanya spilled every qualm that she had been keeping to herself in the past year, or perhaps, the past three years striving for first chair and how <em> ordinary </em> she felt next to Helen. She talked about her upcoming audition and how hard she had been practicing to prove that she was capable of getting the spot, but she also acknowledged that overthinking too much hindered her from playing her absolute best during the actual audition.</p><p>And while Vanya continued articulating her thoughts, Five kept his eyes on her, nodding every now and then to reassure that he was listening. </p><p>When Vanya had finished her monologue, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. </p><p>“What an ass. She probably feels threatened that you’re still aiming for first chair this year,” Five suggested, to which Vanya muttered how she highly doubted that. “Try not to let her get to you. She seems to have that effect on most people. Just last week I had to stop Diego from chucking a chocolate croissant at the back of her head.”</p><p>Vanya couldn’t help but let out a small smile at the mental image. Diego, to her surprise, was the assistant store manager of the cafe with a shorter temper than Five when it came to customer service. “Maybe you should have let him.” </p><p>Five shrugged, placing the cup and cloth to the side. “It <em> was </em>tempting, but I wasn’t in the mood to have Luther scold us about how the customer is always right and all that bullshit.”</p><p>Vanya hummed in response. As the store manager of the cafe, Vanya would hear Luther being derisively referred to as “Number One” by his employees. He was a stickler for the rules and prioritized upholding a positive reputation of the cafe and its staff, which made her wonder just how much Five helped his coworkers get away with their shenanigans whenever Luther was away.</p><p>“Though, I may get a lecture anyway if Helen ends up realizing what I did.”</p><p>Vanya furrowed her brows at him curiously, “What do you mean?”</p><p>Five leaned his elbow on the counter, placing his hand on the side of his cheek. The mischievous glint he had when they first met made its appearance again. In a low voice, enough so it wouldn't be heard by other customers, he muttered, “I added whole milk to her drink instead of soy milk. She should be running to the nearest bathroom in half an hour.”</p><p>Vanya’s eyes widened and gasped, “You didn’t.” </p><p>Five tapped his other hand lazily on the counter, “Like I give a shit. She should know better than to disrespect people in the food service industry.”</p><p>“Five, that is <em> not </em>okay.” Vanya whispered harshly, but truthfully, she couldn’t help but let a chuckle escape as she did. As much as she’d hate to admit it out loud, the thought of Helen’s weakness for dairy being used against her made her less intimidating. </p><p>“Don't act like the moral compass now. You were perfectly fine with the idea of Diego throwing a pastry at her head a few seconds ago,” he reminded with no trace of remorse in his tone. “Besides, she’s lactose intolerant. It's not going to kill her.”</p><p>“You don’t know that for sure,” Vanya shot back.</p><p>“Less competition for you then, right? Not like you <em> need </em> an advantage. I’m sure you’ll beat Helen this year now that you’ve practiced more.” Even though Five hadn’t watched her play the violin yet, he seemed so confident in his words that she wanted to believe him. </p><p>Vanya grimaced at the morbid joke, “Not funny.” She paused for a moment, before shyly adding, “But, thanks... for listening, I mean.” </p><p>Five never confirmed if tampering with Helen’s drink was for her own sake, but a part of her felt like she already knew the answer. </p><p>“Anytime. If you ever need to talk, I'm all ears.”</p><p>“Likewise.” Vanya grinned, “It's fun listening to you complain about your coworkers.” </p><p>It was then that Vanya could feel her cheeks warm up as she caught sight of Five’s gaze, his smile partially covered by the palm of his hand.</p><p>“Anyway, as I was saying before we were <em> rudely </em> interrupted,” Five redirected the subject, stretching his arms as he did so. “Above all else, unlike waffles, you can roll pancakes up and stuff them in your mouth when you’re in a hurry.”</p><p>Vanya laughed, “You’re <em> so </em> weird.” </p><p>And he was. Because while her anxieties and doubts didn’t completely disappear, Five had managed to distract Vanya from her unpleasant thoughts during the rest of her break. She found solace in having someone to talk to when she didn’t feel like carrying the burden on her own.</p><p>It felt nice knowing Vanya could rely on Five to be her confidant. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't condone Five tampering with drinks, but sometimes, the characters end up having a mind of their own during the writing process. </p><p>Thank you to everyone who left a kudos or comment in my first installment of this series! Writing for myself after years of being away from it has been a mix of joy and anxiousness, so getting to see your positive feedback truly makes me feel warm inside.</p><p>Also, shout out to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightsrk/pseuds/Nightsrk">Nightsrk</a> for suggesting Five’s final reason for being Team Pancakes™.</p><p>Until next time!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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